A Question of Intimacy
by telosphilos
Summary: The rating will go up on this fic, this is a rather different take on the concept of a demonic heat with a bit of cross over fun.
1. Default Chapter

This is the same story I placed on There really is no difference between there and here. I appologize for not having a beta all mistakes are mine.

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Pain. He was lost in a world of hot and cold pain between waves of cravings so strong he could not concentrate on anything for more then a minute. His aura was clashing with itself causing his youki to spike uncontrollably. He ran toward the most isolated spot he could think of and whispered a prayer that no one would be hurt as he passed out.

Higarashi Kagome was enjoying getting to know her guide at her new college. They were on their way to the library to do their math homework and get to know each other better as study partners. Keiko was perhaps a year or two younger than her, but with Kagome's late start they would graduate at the same time. Keiko was explaining how most of her male friends seemed to work all of the time and could only manage part time classes when they made them at all. That was when Kagome felt the pulse of youki from the woods of a nearby shrine.

"Youkai..." she whispered suddenly.

"You know about youkai" Keiko asked incredulously.

"Hai. I'm a miko. Let's go, we can argue on the way, just keep up." Kagome answered and took off running at a fairly good clip. Keiko did her best to keep up and was almost able to out pace the older student.

"What are we running for" Keiko yelled as best she could.

"There is a youkai either in trouble or up to no good a block away dead ahead to the left." Kagome answered.

Once at the shrine, the girls bypassed the steps in favor of plunging directly ahead into the forest. Not far in was the youkai the miko had sensed.

"Hiei" Keiko gasped at the sight of the man unconscious and shuddering on the ground. She was startled again when her companion stopped her from reaching him.

"Don't touch him. He is too out of it and could attack without warning. Do you know of a place where we can take him? I'm certain I can move him once he is convinced I am not a threat or prey." Kagome asked seriously as she analyzed what she was sensing and seeing. The little demon was clearly in serious trouble. She wondered how her study partner knew the youkai since she was human and yet could name him on sight.

"This is Genkai's shrine, he is welcome here pretty much any time. What's wrong with him? Why is he here and not upstairs" Keiko answered and asked in a rush. She wanted to know just what was going on. The stoic little youkai had come to be a good friend over the years. She could not imagine what could take him down like this.

"He probably came here to die without harming anyone else. I suspect he was delirious at the time. It is pretty instinctive for youkai to do something along those lines when they are sick or injured to the point of near fatality. I'm not sure what is wrong with him, but there are three auras fighting each other coming from him. I think I need to ground him out. Get whatever help you can and bring them here. I need to know his biological make up and an estimate of his age to best be able to help him." Kagome explained as she stepped closer to the fallen youkai. Treading lightly, Kagome walked around in a large circle, keeping Hiei in the center of it. Hiei had gone fetal and continued to convulse lightly as she began to near him. Approaching Hiei from the front, Kagome gently mummered"Hiei-san, my name is Kagome, I'm a friend of Keiko's. I am a miko, but I will not hurt you."

Keiko was just starting up the steps when Boton and the Spirit Detective team piled out of a portal right in front of her. Immediately, she glomped Yuuske and explained in a rush"It's Hiei. There is something wrong with him. Kagome just sent me to go get you." Letting go of her long time boyfriend and current finance she said"Follow me" and led them right to the miko and the ailing youkai.

Kagome had just gotten close enough for Hiei to take a swipe at her. Instead of jumping back, she blocked his harm and grabbed his hand. The effect on his auras was instantaneous. The youki quit fluctuating and balanced out against the miko's holy aura."Hiei-san, I said I wouldn't hurt you and I mean it." she said gently. She placed his hand under the collar of her shirt on her shoulder and said"I am intimately familiar with youkai." With that comment she let go of his hand and reached gently for his face. Brushing the hair away from his eyes, she gently felt down his neck and under his collar very gently and deliberately checking both shoulders. Slipping her hand out from under his clothes, she removed his hand and held it between her own.

The spirit detectives had arrived in time to witness this strange scene. Kurmura knowing the most about youkai behaviors was fascinated. The girl had demonstrated great trust in his friend by putting his hand at her throat before she reached for such sensitive areas on his body. Protecting the throat and face was highly instinctive to youkai. The only ones who usually got to touch a youkai's neck were mates and healers. It was clear to him at least that the girl was checking to see if Hiei had taken a mate.

"Kagome" Keiko asked loathed to interrupt the strange rapport that seemed to be going on, but very curious as to what that was all about.

"Back already? That was quick." Kagome remarked. "Can they answer my questions so that we can move him somewhere more comfortable"

"Depends on the questions." replied Yuuske brusquely. "What was that about and what's wrong with him"

"I'm still figuring out what's wrong with him. That is why I need to ask questions. As for the rest, it is and incredibly bad idea to approach a sick or injured youkai. This one has led a particularly harsh life and is more liable to attack out of self defense then most. He is not conscious, but he is still processing sensory information. I had to convince him that I wouldn't kill him and that attacking me would be foolish before I touched him. I have to keep direct skin contact to keep his youkai grounded." Kagome answered neatly avoiding a more direct answer as to why she was checking his neck in particular in such a fashion.

"Grounded" Kuwabara asked.

"Yes, grounded. He has three separate auras which isn't supposed to be possible, I think I might even be sensing a fourth that is completely dormant. It feels like two of them are balanced out, but the third is thowing them off. I'm basically giving his auras something to fight to balance out that third aura. The fourth doesn't feel like it would be much of a balance if I woke it." the miko explained.

"What ever you do, do not wake that fourth aura" Kuwabara shouted quickly in horror. "That is not something you want to mess with."

"I'll take your word for it." Kagome gave a wry smile having sensed as much. "How old is he" she asked sharply.

"How should we know" Yuuske exclaimed.

"What does that have to do with anything" Keiko asked.

"It is very important. How old is he and what is his genetic make up" Kagome repeated, petting his hand and arm as she gripped it tightly in anticipation of the answers.

"He is ninety-three. The oldest Forbidden Child on record for the last six hundred years." Boton answered, surprising the others.

"Forbidden child? You can't mean a hanyou because he is not at all human. He has to be a hybrid of some sort which explains the balanced auras." Kagome mused aloud.

"He is an elemental with opposing elements, fire and ice. The third aura is his Jagan eye which was implanted some time ago. The fourth is a sort of bound black dragon that masquerades as a tattoo most of the time. The dragon is very dangerous and should not be bothered if at all possible. Are you thinking what I think you are thinking" Kumara asked considering the links between her questions and her actions.

"Probably. He is old for this to be the first time, but it will be that much more intense because of it. Best we can do right now is make him comfortable and keep him grounded." Kagome replied brushing the youkai's hair off his face where it had fallen back to reveal a much calmer expression.

"You do realize the risks you are taking being so close to him" Kumara inquired seriously.

"Yes." Kagome replied. She straightened the collar of her shirt, flashing an old scar where Hiei's hand had been at Kurmura.

The kitsune avatar's eyes widened momentarily in silent shock before he replied"I see you do. Let's get him up to a comfortable bed."

Kurmura approached the pair on the ground only to have Hiei growl at him. Kurmura stopped located the wind direction and walked downwind. From that point he approached the pair. Hiei's growling went much softer, but didn't stop. "Hiei, I'm just going to carry you. You are too heavy for her to easily manage with all those steps." Hiei quested and Kurmura gently picked him up like a father would do to a sleeping child.


	2. Clues, Chapter 2

A/N: At the moment, I'm not honestly sure whether or not this will wind up being a traditional Hiei/Kagome fic or not. What I have written so far is interesting, but it is not by any means overtly sexual. This story is far more about intimacy and sexuality then it is about sex. As for Kagome's mating mark, well, that is a plot point that you will have to read more to find out. The ratings will change whenever the story becomes a bit lemony. I write in longhand in a paper journal and then transcribe onto the computer so it takes a fair bit of time for me to update. I can't quite seem to compose well at the keyboard and the extra pass at editing between the two versions does tend to help. shrug

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Once the group had reached Genkai's guest room, Kurmura laid the little youkai on top of a futon. The miko had yet to let go of Hiei's hand and the rest were watching cautiously. The boys and Keiko were completely at sea with this strange turn of events. Boton for all her usual cheerful air headed behavior was starting to reason out what Kurmura had already concluded and was quite frankly worried. The atmosphere of the room was tense with concern for their friend.

"Do you know what is wrong with Hiei" Kuwabara asked to break the tension up and satisfy their curiosity as well as give them all something to do. The idleness that the Spirit Detective team had been regulated to grated on their nerves. This was not the sort of situation they handled well without Hiei and Kurmura actively working at keeping them in line.

"I think so," answered the miko, "it is a bit complicated though. At some point, we will need to undress him and tuck him in, but I want to let him regain consciousness first." She was unsure how to even broach the topic of what she thought was the root cause of Hiei's problems with his companions.

"He is in season, but his eye is creating problems, right" Kurmura both explained and asked at the same time to make things easier for the young miko.

"I believe so" Kagome replied with a sigh. "Actually, he would have had a very hard time regardless. Going into season kills quite a number of youkai with its side effects. Hybrids like him often don't make it. The eye just seems to have upped the ante."

"I'm surprised it caught him unawares" Kurmura rejoined to the confirmation of his suspicions. Boton just winced and looked very nervous.

"Um, could one of you translate for those of us who don't speak youkai," Keiko asked, slightly annoyed, but more intrigued then anything.

Kagome blushed slightly in chagrin and stated "Season, as in mating season. It lasts for anywhere between three and eight weeks about once every decade depending on the species. Females go into heat and don't stop fighting until they are defeated by a prospective mate and impregnated. Males as just forced by their hormones to seek release, preferably with a female that is in heat and difficult to subdue. Depending on the species they will either stick around and be hyper protective or they will take off. Only a few species mate for life, kitsunes and elementals are not among them." Kagome tried to be as clinical as possible and hoped they would take the matter seriously. Her hopes were dashed when both the young humans burst out laughing and Keiko blushed so red there was a chance she would pass out.

"You mean Hiei just needs to get laid," Yuuske laughingly commented. "I told him that over a month ago."

"It seems you were right," Kurmura said with a frown. "However, Hiei has always been very touchy on the topic of mates. From what Kagome-sensei is saying, it may not have made any difference." The group all seemed sober up from their levity and to look to the woman for answers.

"I don't know. A strong miko or priest could have prevented this by being his mate. There still would have been problems, but much of it could have been avoided." She answered after some thought, thinking some more she said"It would have been difficult, if not impossible, for him to have found a willing miko. There is a significant taboo and social stigma where that sort of relationship is involved. He doesn't strike me as a rapist and I can't picture any miko actually helping a youkai who raped her."

"Hiei? Kami-sama, no." Kuwabara rejoined rather shocked by the suggestion. "He isn't the least bit interested in sex. A more asexual man I've yet to meet."

"Its hard to shock him though." Yuuske commented.

"I get the picture." Kagome responded, purposefully stopping the pair before they could get started. "How badly do you think he will take waking up? He should come round in the nest twenty minutes or so."

"Badly" Kurmura stated baldly. "He doesn't like feeling out of control."

"Hopefully, he will be coherent enough to talk with, that should help with the control issues. What does his extra eye usually do and how did he get it" she asked quietly as the auras from the little youkai took on a pre-wakeful state.

"It does several things. Mostly it gives him a form of second sight and telepathy along with a power boost." Yuuske answered while scratching the back of his head.

"As far as we understand it, it was involuntarily implanted while he was a guinea pig at some mad scientist lab." Kuwabara finished answering for Yuuske.

"Thank you, I have a much better idea of how to handle this now" Kagome replied with a very sad smile.

"So what will you do," Genkai asked as she returned from going to get a bowl of cool water, some clothes and fresh tea.

"Ask his permission before attempting anything at all," Kagome responded wanly. "Restraining him will only make him panic which could easily kill him. He needs to be kept as calm as possible to help prevent his youki from fluctuating with his emotions. I will just have to ask him what he wants to do and work something out from there."

"And if he attacks you? Youkai are prone to violent matings during their seasons after all." Genkai asked stoically, neither gently nor cruelly, just bluntly.

"I'd be very surprised if he did. He does know I've been previously Claimed. He also knows I could kill him with a touch, I expect he would ask me to before he would rape me. Am I not correct, Hiei," Kagome asked when his auras shifted to full wakefulness without him giving any physical hint of his return to consciousness. She knew he had been listening in from at least Genkai's question, if not earlier.

"Hai" he grunted. He tried to sit up only to be hit with a wave of pain and nausea.

"Lay back down." the young woman beside him guided him back gently. She let go of his hand only to take his pulse at his neck. "You will want to eat something along the lines of saltines and have a bit to drink before trying that again. My appologies for invading your personal space, but I need to maintain skin contact to balance your auras Hiei-san."

"How" Hiei asked in a whisper.

"I haven't a clue" Kagome responded to his question in complete frankness as the rest of the room looked at her in shock. The miko just shrugged and ignored them. "My name is Higarashi Kagome. I'm a miko so ask before you try to look in my head. I might burn you on accident or I might not, it is just better to be careful about that."

'What does she mean, fox?' Hiei asked Kurmura telepathically.

"What do you mean" The shorter redhead asked for his friend.

"My powers can be pretty flaky at times. I do nearly everything on unconscious instinct with them." Kagome looked at him, completely unconcerned about the revelation. " Not all telepaths can safely read me. Some see right into my head with no trouble, some hit a blank wall and th rest seem to get hurt somehow. Does that answer the question"

"Hai, I think so" answered the shorter redhead thoughtfully. Miko's with the kind of power the girl was referring to were very rare. He wondered if he should warn Hiei about that.

"What" Hiei asked again, his voice starting to cut out in the middle of the word.

"Your Jagan eye is complicating a natural biological function. Would you like some water first before you interrogate me" Kagome replied.

Hiei nodded and Kagome and Yukina, who had quietly slipped in without the others noticing, helped him sit up just enough to sip from a cup of cool water without spilling it.

"Would you like to speak privately to anyone first? I think you are stable enough for a short conversation with your friends." Kagome offered. Gently she kept his hand flat on top of hers and waited for him to pull away. When he didn't remove it from hers, she raised an eyebrow in inquiry which he brusquely ignored. Instead, he maintained contact and looked toward the kitsune avatar.

'What's going on, Kurmura? Why is she here" Hiei asked in the other's mind sounding thoroughly disgruntled about the whole thing.

'You went into season and it nearly killed you.' Kurmura replied the same way, he went on to explain further before the fire apparition could get a word in, 'I don't know why she is here. She and Keiko reached you first. Your youki was spiking so wildly, Koenma sent us out to find you. The minute she touched you it just cut out.'

'Nani?' Hiei widened his eyes in startlement.

'From what she says, she is giving your auras something to fight to allow them to balance out so they are all directed at her rather then at each other. It not only seems possible, but also plausible at this point. She has been Claimed at some point and knows a surprising amount about youkai, but she didn't know what a Forbidden Child was.' Kurmura explained, at the small fire youkai's frown he went on to say, ' It didn't even phase her when we explained it. She seems to do a lot of reading between the lines and has been extraordinarily gentle and non-threatening toward you.'

'Hn,' was all Hiei could say for a bit. 'Ask her why she's here.' he demanded still in Kurmura's head, wanting to save his voice as his throat was still sore.

"He wants to know why you are here, Kagome-sensei" Kurmura translated.

"I felt his youki. Anything that powerful is bad news. Either some one was on a destructive rampage or they were in serious distress. I've learned to never ignore something like that." Kagome answered nonchalantly with a shrug.

"How did you learn that" Yukina asked her curiously.

Kagome just closed her eyes visibly clamping down on some unknown memory. "Not all places are as calm as this one. I've seen a lot of people die. Some of their deaths were preventable. Besides, it is usually less effort to save a life then it is to dig a grave and preform the funeral rites" the miko answered sardonically, reminding the rest of a cross between Genkai and Kurmura, or possibly even Hiei. "If you don't mind Hiei-san, I need to make use of the facilities."

Kagome waited for the young youkai to lift his hand and then stood up. "Genkai-sama, could you show me to the little girl's room." Kagome asked in a quiet voice and left the room training the elderly woman.


	3. Options, Chapter 3

A/N: I wanted to get a bit further in the paper version of this before I transcribed it. There are some quirky things coming up. Now, I have to admit that I have not seen all of the anime. In fact, I merely have read the manga and done a little online research. I would absolutely love it is some one could give me a link to some scanalations.

I want to point out that Kagome is working on pure observation and in doing so she actually makes several mistakes in her conclusions. I know Hiei did not have his eye involuntarily implanted, however I have not actually read that bit of the storyline. I have yet to decide whether or not to keep or toss that as a plot point. If I toss it, then some one will point out that Kuwabara's statement in the last chapter was incorrect. Also, in upcoming chapters you will find out a lot more about this Kagome. Remember that she is much older then in the manga. She is roughly 21 years old having spent most of the last six years in the feudal era.

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Once the young miko had relieved herself, Genkai stopped her from returning immediately. "You seem good at picking out clues from thin air, however there is room for error in doing so." Genkai commented seriously.

"I am well aware of that, but I wish to respect his privacy with my suspicions. Right or wrong it would upset him and strong emotional upsets could cause serious harm at this point. I don't have much in the way of other options." Kagome rejoined to her elder's admonishment. She knew that what she had been doing could not be anything other then annoying to the youkai male's companions, but they were not really all that relevant to her right now.

"Keiko told me you thought him to have had a particularly harsh life. What leads you to that conclusion" Genkai asked calmly. It was a peculiar observation, but accurate. If she could understand what brought the miko to that idea, there was a good chance she could see how she was picking so many clues out of thin air.

"My mate was an inu hanyou. My pup was an orphaned kitsune cub. I am very familiar with the growth patterns of youkai since I have had to study them for my son's sake. Hiei would never have turned out that small in a loving household. His build and size are strong evidence of chronic malnutrician and at least one period of near starvation during what should have been a growth spurt. There is also evidence of very faint scars on his hands, arms, and neck. His throat has been slit at least once. It takes a lot to scar a youkai." Kagome answered with quiet seriousness. She wondered if the man's personality was just so distant that the rest had never bothered to properly observe him. She could not think of any reason why they would not have put all of these clues together on their own before this. Perhaps they had, Kagome considered, but they had not expected her to do so as a complete stranger.

"I had not considered that, nor had I noticed the scars." Genkai remarked with an air of consideration. It seemed that the miko simply had a fresh set of eyes and was tackling a puzzle that the others had never really given the time necessary to attempt to solve. Genkai and her boys and girls simply accepted Hiei as he was and no longer bothered to try and question him.

"Scars have a different significance to youkai. They are seen as more attractive rather then less so, as long as they are well healed. All told, despite his size, I am certain that he could find a mate if he wanted to. He is a survivor who can endure and that is every attractive to female youkai. He is single by choice." Kagome stated firmly. She hoped she could lead the elder woman to the conclusions that she was seriously considering without having to say anything aloud. She could not bring herself to speak of what she thought had likely happened to the man, but if the elderly woman could see what she was picking up on then there was a good chance she might just be right. She rather hoped she was wrong.

"You find that significant as well." Genkai rejoined with a raised eyebrow. She was somewhat skeptical about the young miko's assumption, not because her observations were wrong, but because she knew of Hiei's genetic heritage. It should not come as any surprise that a man from a culture that reproduced asexually would be disinterested in a mate, but the miko apparently didn't know about that.

"Don't you" Kagome shot right back.

"You are plucking clues again." Genkai sniped. She was unsure of just where the young thing was going with her observations and did not enjoy the sense of befuddlement about a person she thought she knew relatively well.

"In this case, those clues add up to a warning to be cautious." Kagome replied in kind. He wondered if she would have to spell it out.

"How so" Genkai sighed in defeat. She wanted an answer, not another riddle. The riddle himself was just beginning to destabilize in the other room again.

"I'm not about to say because I could be wrong. All I know is that he is a very attractive unmated youkai who probably also has a very good reason for remaining solitary. He has also be captured and tortured at some point in his life. If he could have been restrained enough to have a Jagan Eye implanted against his will, what else could have been done to him." Kagome turned and walked quickly back to the youkai's side leaving the elder woman to chew on that thought for a while.

Once back in the guest room, Kagome settled herself beside Hiei and laced her fingers through his once more. "This is going to be a long couple months isn't it" she asked rhetorically.

"Probably" Yuuske snorted"Why should we trust you with Hiei? We know next to nothing about you."

"What do you want to know" Kagome offered trying to be reasonable despite her annoyance at the elderly woman.

"Who are you, how do you know about youkai, that sort of thing." Kuwabara replied, not unkindly.

"I'm Higarashi Kagome. I split time between the Sunset Shrine and the Mekai. Technically, I'm a miko, but I'm not into the formality involved with that. Currently, I'm a student at the same college as Keiko, we have math together. Math is my weakest subject so we were on our way to go study together when I felt the power spike." Kagome started to answer. Hiei raised an eyebrow at this and Keiko interrupted with the question he wanted to ask.

"What do you mean split time"

"My son doesn't much like the human realm. The scents just get to be too much for him after a bit. He is a good sport about coming here and loves to play with his Obaa-chan, but it really can be a bit too different at times. He really is a sweet kit." Kagome smiled fondly thinking of her little kitsune boy.

"Kit" Kurmura asked"As in kitsune"

"Hai, he is a good cub. I adopted him, oh.. going on six years ago now. If it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't be here at all so, I guess you could say I'm very attached to him." Kagome explained without truly giving an explanation. There were just some things that were still a little too raw to be discussed with strangers.

"So you have permission to cross the barrier" Boton blinked in surprise. It still wasn't too common to find people with permission for free passage. She thought she had the list memorized years ago.

"Enma-tono himself signed my paperwork. Of course, I did have him by the proverbial balls at the time. My son, my brother in law, his wife and myself all have free passage rights to all of the realms." Kagome just waved that consideration away not thinking it important.

"What did you do to get Enma-sama to give you free passage? He has been off somewhere for most of the last few years and letting his son handle the Bureau" Kurmura commented intensely curious about who these people since they had never once had to deal with them.

"We made it part of his best interest and that was that. If you want to know more about that you will have to get the clearances and dig up my file in the Renkai offices. Most of it is classified, so you will need the proper signatures and whatnot to get into it. If I let you have free reign to rummage in my head, I'll have to bind you to secrecy Hiei-san. It is an option, but the bindings are serious business, so it is up to you." Kagome adeptly redirected the conversation away from the more dangerous territory of classified information.

"What do you mean by option" Hiei asked aloud for once, not keen on being the center of attention once again.

"You have several choices for how you want to handle your current predicament. I could just kill you and put you out of your misery" the rest of the team glared at her and rolled their eyes at the presumption that she really could harm the little youkai enough to kill him. She said it like it was a certainty and that rankled at them. "but I doubt your friends would be so attached to you if you were that sort of coward. That option aside, you are in for a rough couple months. You can go back to the Mekai and find a mate for your season, but you will have to stay relatively close to a home base so that I can keep you stable. It would be tricky and extremely risky, but it would speed things up. You might get out of this in under a month that way." Kagome began to list the potential choices in the order of what she thought he was least likely to accept.

"Not feasible." Hiei cut in.

"Not at all easy, but not impossible. Its an option and your best chance for children if you want them." Kagome pointed out. The little youkai shifted and closed his eyes as his youki made a low spike in reaction.

"No." Hiei repeated quietly.

The miko just nodded and didn't press. Unfortunately, the others were less discrete. "No" Yukina asked looking disappointed.

"Is there a point to siring a child you will never see" Hiei responded after a beat. The miko just squeezed his hand lightly in apparent understanding.

"Never say never, there is always the next time and the time after that. Your other options are easier to put into practice. You can do as my mate did and attempt to wait it out. I can assist with that through ofuda and other holy techniques. I could even go so far as to put you to sleep or seal you to the location of your choice. The problem is doing this sort of thing takes the longest and is the most painful. I do not recommend a strict form of this. The strict form is enough to drive most youkai and hanyou insane." the miko sighed attempting to ensure they understood exactly what such a decision would entail meant disclosure of the risks. She didn't really want to discuss this, but she really didn't have much choice. "We had to let my mate out when he attempted this for several reasons, not the least of which was the pain. He was having trouble stopping his transformation even with his blood seal. The attack on the village was merely the last straw."

"I am not a weak hanyou." Hiei snorted in annoyance.

"My mate was not week." Kagome stated very coldly with deliberate control on her anger at the assumption that her mate was anything less then he truly was. "Hanyou and hybrids survive the same way. They are either exceptionally strong, fast, intelligent, cunning, powerful or some combination. My mate was sired by a taiyoukai." She stated very firmly with her voice under disturbingly calm control. "He was extremely powerful, very strong and remarkably intuitive. I will not have him maligned in death." The warning was clear.

"Yet, he is dead." Hiei pointed out mercilessly. He did not quite believe that this woman could kill him with a touch as she had earlier claimed, but was rather fascinated by the emotive reaction. It was the first such display of wilder emotion since he had woken up.

"Hai, and I still live because of his sacrifice. I doubt you would do any less for your pregnant mate and pup." the miko cruelly shot down that little notion, causing the others to look at her in startlement and Hiei in reprimand.

"Hn" was Hiei's only reply. He considered the statements. The miko was definitely not pregnant now and only spoke of one child. He thought it likely she had lost the pregnancy in whatever had happened to kill her mate. It was actually rather amazing that she had survived the breaking of a mate's bond.

"Still you are seeming to recommend a method that failed in the past. We would like some assurance of his safety in your hands even if he can be a ballsy little bastard." Kurmura remarked trying to gloss over the bit of verbal confrontation that had just occurred.

"Safety is but an illusion, beloved of fools and small children" the miko replied cynically. "I will not guarantee something I have no control over, but I will promises not to allow any preventable harm to the best of my ability. Hiei-san is correct that there are differences between hybrids and hanyous and that is actually to his advantage. Since he has no human blood he keeps his mind in his true, or primal, form. Hanyou go psychotic." Kagome replied, calming her temper and choosing to rise above the little youkai's earlier barbs in light of his friends honest concern. The shorter redhead did predict that the man would take the situation badly after all. She thought that this sort of behavior must have been what he meant which would mean it also is not typical. "Sleeping it off would have the fewest consequences."

"Is that what you recommend" Yukina asked softly. Plans for looking after her brother were already forming in her mind.

"That, or a form of deep meditation that would allow him free reign in my head with the holy bindings for the things that are currently classified. Its roughly two months of bed rest either way with constant monitoring. I expect we will both be bored out of our minds." Kagome sighed. "Sleep on it, Hiei-san, I will take you decision in the morning. Strong emotions will unbalance you so, maintain your calm until I return." Kagome rose to leave, disengaging her hand from the fire apparition's.

"Would you like a portal, Kagome-sensei" Boton asked as the miko was walking out of the room. She had hoped to have a few words with the miko. If her friend Hiei had gone into season, the odds were greatly in favor of her having to ferry him across to the other realm minus his body. Koenma had once confided that the youkai's very short life expectancy was part of his reasoning for such a light sentence once he was in their custody. Boton didn't really know what to do with the knowledge now. She just hoped that the miko really could prevent his anticipated death.

"Can you take me to and from the Sunset Shrine? I really don't want to leave him unmonitored for long." Kagome said after a moment.

"Hai, I can. Please forgive Hiei-san. He is a very faithful friend, but he isn't so good with people, especially at first." Boton commented and opened the portal.


	4. Consideration, Chapter 4

A/N: I corrected all the spelling errors and typos I could find in the last three chapters. This story is not plotted out in advance so while I'm trying to make certain that everything is internally consistent, please let me know if I screw up. This one is short because the next chapter will be long. It just worked out better that way.

* * *

Yukina watched as her brother reclined on his futon after the miko had left. Despite Hiei's continuous refusal to come clean about it, she had long ago figured out the truth. Hiei's refusal to father children saddened her, she would have loved to dote on some nieces and nephews. His quiet resignation made her think that it wasn't really that he didn't want children, but rather that he didn't believe he would be allowed to be a father to them. Perhaps he did not believe he would find a true mate either.

It wasn't the first time she had wondered at the wounds on her brother's heart that he could honestly believe such a thing. Her mother had committed a cruelty worthy of a demoness when she allowed her only son to be sent to make his way on his own complete with an attempt on his life. Yukina knew his survival in the Mekai could not have been easy. She heard the names: Forbidden One, Unholy Child, Evil Bastard; they were the names of the shunned. It was no surprise to her that he had been a criminal. What ever it took, he survived to spite his nay sayers. In that respect, she was very proud of him.

"So, what now" Kuwabara asked.

"Now, we go raid Koenma's files" Yuuske answered. "When Boton gets back we can see if we can't find out exactly who she really is. This Kagome person really doesn't seem like she is out for something, but her answers just seem a little too weird. I don't like the classified information excuse."

"Good idea. Do you want to be left to the tender mercies of the miko, Hiei" Kumura asked sardonically.

"I have a choice" Hiei shot back sarcastically with a snort of disdain.

"Not really, shrimp" Kuwabara responded. "We much prefer you alive and on our side."

"True" Yuuske sighed. "Kumura would be lost without you at the very least" he teased.

"Hn" Hiei rolled his eyes. "Do fill me in on your findings."

"Of course" Kumura reassured him quickly.

"Where do you wish to stay" Genkai inquired judiciously. " You are welcome to remain here, though I do like my quiet."

"Stay" Yukina quietly commanded. "I will look after you both for the duration."

Hiei nodded his silent assent to the command, grateful for their concern and consideration.

"The rest of you: OUT" Genkai commanded. "Go to sleep boy, you need it" she directed at the young male youkai. Hiei growled at the command, but laid back down and shut his eyes.

"Higarashi-sensei, may I speak with you" Kuwabara, the tallest of the Spirit Detectives, asked the miko on her return.

"Hai, but should Hiei destabilize at all, I will have to leave without warning" she replied.

"I understand. He is resting, but not sleeping. There is far too much activity going on around here for that. I wanted to talk to you about that." Kuwabara stated gently.

"Oh" Kagome said to let him know she was listening to him.

"Hiei is very sensitive. He has difficulty filtering out the noises, scents, and so forth of the human world. It will take some extra work to really make him comfortable. He has adapted, but it is like an itch he can't scratch." Kuwabara said with a sigh. "I know you are attempting to do something that is nearly impossible. Hiei and his twin are a fascinating mixture of passion and dispassion, violent emotions and cold, hard, reason. They are beautiful, delicate and youthful. At the same time they are also impossibly strong, cruel, and wise. Just be careful with him."

"Of course" she replied in all seriousness. "You love him, don't you"

"Hai, as a brother" Kuwabara replied"Despite everything, he is my brother at arms and my brother-in-law. There are few people I'd rather have at my back when everything goes down the toilet."

"High praise indeed" Kagome smile. "I must go, his auras are starting to fluxuate again."

"Of course, miko-sensei" Kuwabara nodded and left to join the others on their way to Koenma's office.

* * *

A/N: DragonofDarkness gave some interesting constructive criticism that I want to address. There were some things in the last chapter that were not readily apparent to the reader and that means that as the author I have failed to convey something. First, everything is from either Hiei or Kagome's perspectives. If one of them is not present for it, we don't see it in the story even if we are in the other character's heads at times. Second, I work from the manga, not the animes. The original writer does the manga, corporate interests get involved and really produce the animations based off of those manga. From my research, Yoshihiro Togashi actually stopped work on Yu Yu Hakusho because what he wanted to write was not what Jump Comics wanted to sell.  
As a reader, I find much more depth in the manga then I do anime. Consider it analogous to the concept of negative space in art, (that which is not the object being drawn). I see much more depth to the characters because I am not watching the anime. It is much easier then for me to see what is not said because I'm not being bombarded with what is being said. My interpretations will be different from many other peoples points of view for these reasons. I do have a good concept of my characters and I do have good reasons for what I put in, take it on faith that I will reveal those reasons in time.  
Now, the setting of the story is actually a number of years into the future. The boys of the Yu Yu gang have reached the lovely age of 19-21. I am assuming everyone grew up a lot. They had to in order to survive. Yes, Kuwabara is a big buffoon most of the time, but he does have his moments of insight. If he didn't he would not be the one gifted with the strongest sixth sense, nor would he ever stand a chance at keeping up with three people who have demon blood as the only full human.  
I also assume as the author that Hiei and Kuwabara have reached some sort of fragile truce for the sake of Yukina. They may not like each other very much, but they will look after each other because each knows the other is important to Yukina. When Kuwabara said "as a brother" he meant it as a sibling. Siblings rarely like each other all that much when they are still living in the same household. Kagome is completely unaware of this dynamic as she is a stranger to them. The only reason why Kuwabara would say anything at all to her about Hiei is because they are alone and away from the others. The only people who are likely to be able to hear him are Hiei and Yukina as they are the only full youkai and it doesn't much matter to him if they hear what he has to say. There is also a chance that Yukina had a hand in this too, that we just don't get to see because it is offstage so to speak.  
Also, Kuwabara did actually finish school, unlike certain other characters. (I am under the impression that that is cannon.) We can't assume that he is completely uneducated any more. He may have been a complete and utter twit at 14, but he wouldn't be the same twit at 19. The gap in abilities has widened into a chasm, but the weakest member of a strong team often only seems weak by comparison to his teammates. For a full human, he is pretty impressive in his own right.  
(And just for the record, I find DragonofDarkness' characters OOC too, so I think it is just a case of the two of us approaching our stories from wildly different perspectives. Her story is decent and worth a read to see if you like where she is going with it. You can find it here: http: 


	5. Plans, Chapter 5

"Kuwabara is a baka" Hiei said by way of greeting as Kagome entered the room.

"Perhaps, but some of the wisest things ever said have come from the mouths of fools and children" the miko responded as she took hold of his hand once more"I can create some barriers to filter out things if you want. I gathered my materials for ofuda from the shrine."

"No" Hiei said brusquely"I'd rather be aware."

"Of course" Kagome nodded, his reason did make sense to her. Inuyasha had said much the same more then once. "The main worry I have for you is the connection between your youki and your emotions. The adrenalin in your body directly effects the output of youki. This would be no problem if it were possible to directly suppress the production of the hormones. Adrenalin is the key hormone controlling the physiological and psychological states of arousal, hence the situation."

"Hn" was the fire apparition's response as he attempted to listen without comment. What the miko was saying made sense even if it was rather unpleasant to contemplate.

"I can understand if you don't trust me yet, but you have my word and whatever other reasonable measure you want that I will guard your privacy to the best of my ability. You have nothing to fear from me." Kagome stated with quiet seriousness, she understood the unpleasant implications of her little biology lecture. No one could control the production of their hormones completely. There was a sort of mind over matter element to them, particularly with adrenalin, but it was a matter of control rather then a true shutting off of the adrenal glands. Any adrenalin was potentially problematic for a youkai in the grips of their season. It was thought that the practically ritualized combat both over and with females in heat was strongly keyed into the psychological response of arousal from the hormone.

"Where will you sleep and how can you monitor such things in your sleep" Hiei asked after a long period of silence. He understood well enough that what she was saying meant very little privacy for him and no fighting for the safety of the others.

"Wherever. I could try to ward the room to wake me or we could just do shifts" the miko answered. She was starting to get a headache from all the things she had to take into account for her latest self imposed mission. She was also starting to feel the first whispers of phantom pain. "Yukina-san feels like a healer youkai and should be sensitive enough to notice a change. Genkai-sama would definitely be able to do some monitoring. The tall redhead is also talented in that area, I suspect, you would know better then I there. Actually, you would know better then I about all of them. I can go for several days without sleep, but not for two months." Kagome answered as she thought about the youkai's friends and their abilities that she could pin down right off. The young youkai she had decided to rescue was definitely of the standoffish sort. He seemed to be all rough edges and very slow to warm. She had to wonder if he would warm to her in the next two months since they would be forced into such close contact. "I will need to use some scent masking spells starting in a couple days so as not to put undo stress on you" she thought aloud, completely losing Hiei as she jumped to a totally different train of thought. "I will need to do the same for the rest of the females as well. Perhaps I should just put a ward up for that. Hrm... I think that will be tricky, but I believe I can do it with a little research." Kagome babbled as she tried to think through the little conundrum.

"Why" Hiei asked brusquely. He wondered what in the hell she was going on about, but was hesitant to just look into her mind the way he ordinarily would to find out.

"Why what? The spell or a ward rather than a spell" the miko essayed for a clarification.

"Both" Hiei answered shortly with an expression of mild curiosity.

"The ward because it would be a more efficient use of power and less prone for slip ups. It would also leave me with a greater reserve just in case." Kagome answered the second question first because it was the less embarrassing. Here she was a grown woman, a widow even, and such simple things still embarrassed her to discuss with men. "You probably never bothered to pay any attention to it, but human women are on a very different cycle from demonesses. It's a large part of the reason why so many youkai males enjoy human women so much. Unlike youkai, we never cycle off to a true rest state for long. To make things more confusing, our 'heats' only last for three days, but we don't bleed until fourteen days later. There is a period of rest after the cleansing, but everyone's is different. The people who study this sort of thing think the system evolved to confuse the males and make them stick around The result is that humans are constantly fertile for both genders.

"That explains a bit" Hiei commented sardonically. He couldn't help but think of Yuuske and Kieko. Then of course, there was Kuwabara's relentless pursuit of his sister that had finally been resolved about a year ago. He still didn't know why she tolerated the idiot, but she had Claimed him as her mate so he couldn't kill the baka. He almost felt sorry for his brother in law. His sister would go into heat soon if he was in season and the poor fool would never know what hit him.

"Doesn't it just" Kagome snickered in agreement. "Anyway, even though you might not ordinarily notice that sort of thing, it is probably wise to deal with it beforehand just in case. I am, of course, assuming you are completely heterosexual otherwise I would have to mask all arousal." She pointed out, ignoring the slight blush on the youkai's face and thinking on the matter further. "Actually, I should do that anyway. It would be better if you could not be located by scent so simply. Can you think of any other wards for me to put up" she asked feeling like she had to be missing something.

"No" Hiei sighed, he wondered if the woman ever shut up and how she could embarrass him so easily. "Why are you so hung up about scents"

"Canine youkai. I spend most of my time surrounded by wolves, dogs and foxes. It is so bad, I don't even take offense at being called a bitch about half the time in the Meikai. Some days I think they think with their noses." she said with a laugh.

Hiei smirked. Yet, something was tickling the edge of his consciousness about the way her face moved when she laughed. There was something subltely off about it.

"Why so many canines" he asked to see if he could not observe the young woman and figure out just what the flaw was that was nagging at him. He didn't particularly care about the answer, he just needed to keep her face moving to spot what wasn't right.

"Just about the first youkai I ever met was an inu hanyou. The first was actually a centipede demoness who attacked me, but the first friendly one was a canine. The rest just happened to take a liking to me along the way.Keh" He gave a short mirthless laugh, and then he saw what he was looking for. The muscles under her skin were not quite moving correctly near the ears and the hairline. "The wolf tribe still mostly calls me onee-sama despite everything" she shrugged it off lightly.

Hiei narrowed his eyes and glared at the woman beside him. Extracting his hand and backing away he had her complete attention. "Who are you really? Your face is an illusion" he stated coldly.

"Intelligence and better than average powers of observation, that is how you came to survive so long. Most people can't spot the illusion. I have yet to lie to you. My face is disfigured. Most people can't look me in the eyes without the guise of my original appearance." Kagome answered honestly and without the hesitation or other key tells of a lie, merely a slight visible sense of embarrassment. She had expected him to have found out through connections or in her Reikai file if they were able to get ahold of it. It both surprised and impressed her that he figured it out on his own even if it did make things more difficult for her by making him suspitious.

"Take it off, onna" he commanded with a growl. 'It is hard to trust some one who conceals her true face after all,' he thought to himself. He had no idea why he was even beginning to give her the benefit of a doubt.

"As you wish, but you have been warned, the damage is pretty bad." Kagome agreed with a flinch. She hoped by so easily giving in on the point she could restore any lost faith to the keen observer. She truly didn't like to show anyone her ruined face. Her family had recently started looking into reconstructive plastic surgery. She would never be back to her original appearance, but it was worth a shot. With a pass of her left hand down the front of her face and right arm, the illusion fell away. "There. See for yourself a face to make children cry."

Her face was perhaps not so badly disfigured as she believed it to be, but it was bad enough. The left side looked mostly normal, save for the tiny claw marks in her cheek giving her the faint impression of whiskers. The right side had clearly been crushed. There were some rather obvious scars along the jaw from pins into the bone. The miko was clearly fortunate to be able to eat, let alone talk enough to make Hiei wonder if she could shut up for longer then ten minutes at a stretch. The cheekbone that had once been there was completely gone as were most of the bones forming the eye socket. She kept the lids closed as best she could, but it was hard to miss the fact there was nothing behind them. Her hair also had streaks of white showing where the scars went back beyond the hairline. The miko's blouse was long sleeved, revealing only a scared hand with three fingers. Her pinky was gone from some point in her palm. Only the first knuckle remained of her ring finger. The fingers appeared to have been sheered off at a sharp angle and the skin burned severely.

"Leave it off when we are alone, onna" Hiei said after a rather critical examination. He didn't flinch from her scars though he could see how they would bother her. Murkuro had on occasion mentioned something about that for her face as well. He, however, preferred to be able to see exactly who he was dealing with so that he could truly read the little tells from their facial expressions.

"As you wish, I'll call that a reasonable measure. Add that to the to do list. I'll link it to a talisman or something so that I can take it off more easily. Perhaps we should ward for sound as well so that sound comes in, but doesn't go out." she sighed. The small man's reaction was much better then she would have expected. His face showed surprise, but not the horrified revulsion she had come to expect when she took down the illusions in front of strangers. "I'd rather not let the others see me like this. It is known that I am disfigured, but most are unaware of to what degree and I would like to keep it that way."

"Fine" he said sounding more disgruntled then he actually was.

A knock sounded at the door in the resulting silence. Without a word of warning, the miko released Hiei's hand which he had only just permitted her to recapture and restored her illusions with all the affectation of long practice. Hiei eyed the illusion before nodding. He wondered if she actually slept with it on like that, it had to drain her energy a fair bit to maintain.

"Go ahead and enter" she called out. Pinching the bridge of her nose in a vain attempt to ward off an incipient headache the miko waited for the youkai's friends to enter. What she didn't expect was the voice that spoke next.


	6. Answers?, Chapter 6

"Do you need something for that Auntie? I've already sent Jorge off to make sure to get your medicines." asked the pretty faced young godling. He stood before her in his young adult guise, gazing at her in solicitous concern.

"Enma-chan" the miko exclaimed in surprise before letting go of Hiei's hand and throwing her arms around Koenma in a bone crushing hug. Backing off, she kissed his cheek and beamed at him for a moment before saying"You have certainly gotten a lot taller since the last time. You missed the last three dinner parties we have invited you to. If your parents didn't show up and make your excuses for you, I would be insulted. From the sounds of things you are over worked, or are we just that boring"

"Never that Auntie." Koenma smiled merrily at the teasing.

"Then I'll have to give your father what for about your work hours." Kagome grinned back at him as she released him from her embrace.

"Now that I'd pay good money to see." the young god laughed wickedly in amusement. Behind him the others filed into the room looking at the pair in confusion and surprise.

"so is this business or a social call, if it is business it'll have to wait a couple months" Kagome asked still clearly delighted to see the young god.

"A bit of both, but more the latter then the former. Three quarters of my Spirit Detective team just stormed my office looking for your file. So, I thought I'd make sure it was really you they had run into and pay you a visit." Koenma answered easily.

Said Spirit Detectives had been royally confused for nearly an hour already and they were collectively starting to get pretty annoyed. The godling wasn't telling them what he knew and yet he still made it obvious that he knew plenty. Yuuske was preparing to interrupt when Kurama stepped on his foot to keep him quiet.

"So which ones are your Spirit Detectives? I remember your father saying something about them, but I had to retire early that night." Kagome asked oblivious to the byplay between the young men.

"The one you are in near constant contact with is Hiei. He is a Jaganshi. I'm not sure what else you would call him other then that considering your distaste for name calling. The short haired brunette is Urameshi Yuuske. He is supposedly the team leader." Yuuske waved at the introduction. "He is Genkai's student." Genkai nodded in confirmation of this. "The shorter redhead is Minamino Shuuichi, also known as Youko Kurama. He is a kitsune avatar." Kurama sighed and nodded as well in acknowledgment. "The taller read head is Kuwabara Kazuma. He actually has the strongest sixths sense of the lot. The ladies aren't really on the team, but they do make good support people for them. You already know Keiko. Yukina is the little youkai that got together with Kuwabara and is standing beside him." Koenma indicated the little teal haired girl who looked even smaller next to the tall human. "Genkai is a modern spiritualist and advises the boys. Lastly, there is Boton. She wasn't working ferry duty the last time you would have seen her." Koenma pointed out the blue haired woman who was standing by the door.Kagome was relieved at not having to resort to yelling "hey, you" to get their attention. The pain from her old injuries had faded to a dull ache, but was still enough to make her irritable if provoked, still her humor had been brought out at that last comment.

"No, I must say, she is far better looking then the last guy." Kagome winked at the death deity. "So why no women on the team"

"It just worked out that way. The boys were very young when they started working for me. I expect there would have been far more problems if we had tried to mix the girls in at that time." Koenma answered easily.

"Maybe, maybe not. I was fifteen when I started actually working as a miko in a true mixed pack." Kagome pointed out consideringly. The girls didn't strike her as the sorts of people who would just take things lying down. Even Yukina seemed to have some sort of reserved inner strength to go with her apparent stoicism.

"True, but you did say you were far to young when you started that life." Koenma replied seriously. He had considered the boys ages more then once and felt somewhat guilty for taking what last bits of childhood they would have had from them. It was unfortunate, but it had been necessary as they were the best people for the job. His serious expression only lasted a moment before it was replaced with a look of mischieviousness"Of course, since you are pushing six hundred you aren't too young for anything now are you" he teased. The jaws of his detectives collectively seemed to drop, right on cue. Oh, he was having fun getting one over on those four for once.

"Hush you, I could still turn you over my knee, but then you might enjoy that" Kagome shot back as her eyes twinkled with laughter. The young deity blushed. Yuuske and Kuwabara couldn't help it, they laughed, they laughed so hard their sides hurt. Kurama chuckled along as well and Hiei just smirked. "He was kidding by the way. I'm only just in my twenties."

"Depends on how you count the years Auntie" Koenma poked fun to help get rid of his blush by embarrassing her back. It did help that she was effectively rooted to the spot she was in by his detective so that she couldn't whap him one upside the back of the head like she would have done when he was younger. He decided to change the subject before she could embarrass him any worse by asking about what she thought the detectives could know. "Anyway, how much of the file should I let them into? Their clearances go pretty high, but not that high. Most of it is need to know only."

"Just let them read it. Its mostly ancient history anyway. Can I get you to dig up anything and everything that might be relevant to this mess" she asked accepting the change of topics graciously as she didn't feel like being embarrassed any further either.


End file.
